The Wolverine

June-July 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MICHIGAN IN THE PROS Mike Martin Leads Wolverines In NFL Draft M BY CHRIS BALAS fensive coordinators, and not nearly as much winning as he envisioned until Brady Hoke took over as head coach last year. All of it has made him stronger, ike Martin endured change at Michigan — three different de- he told the Tennessean after being selected by the Tennessee Titans in the NFL Draft's third round (No. 82 overall) in April. "I guess you could say I'm able to adjust to whatever comes along," he said. At 6-1, 306 pounds, Martin has al- ready impressed at the Titans' rookie camp in May under line coach Tracy Rocker. "The guy understands leverage," Rocker said. "When you watch him on film, he's the one manhandling big people. He understands how to control big people." "He is a nuisance to block for a guard," Titans head coach Mike Munchak added. "He is a guy that gets leverage. He gets in the gap, he gets the guard, he is quick off the snap. … He creates problems in the middle, and that's what we're look- ing for." Martin is expected to join the rota- tion at defensive tackle after playing in 49 career games at Michigan. Center and Rimington Award win- ner David Molk, meanwhile, had to wait until the seventh and final round of the draft before his number was called (226th overall). Injuries and — according to some experts — his size (6-1, among the shortest 10 percent of NFL centers) prevented him from being drafted higher. Nobody has ever questioned his toughness, however. Molk played through a severed tendon in his foot to help lead the Wolverines to a Sugar Bowl win. "There are always obstacles that I've had to face," Molk told Chargers. com. "There are always limitations that people put on me and there's always something that people can say that I don't do well enough and something that I don't have that sets me back. It's just proving them wrong over and over and over again until finally there's nowhere else to go." ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. The Tennessee Titans selected Martin in the third round (No. 82 overall). 78 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2012 PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL believes Molk could be one of the steals of the draft.

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